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“Love on display,” we all said from our side of the beach.
Ryan and Daniel were calm and collected, while Zander cracked his knuckles and tilted his neck as if stretching it out. Diego, Aaron, and I exchanged looks, as if to say we had each other’s backs. Sophie had united us, and since we agreed to not make her choose, it took the previous animosity we had felt for each other and punted it into the Atlantic.
Sophie and Viv were looking at the scene curiously, Julie and Gia standing together and doing the same. Nicoletta suddenly whooped with excitement, drawing everyone’s attention. She appeared to be the first to figure it out and smiled widely, whispering quickly into Cheryl’s ear.
“Ladies, if you please?” Troy waved them forward, and they all stepped out of our lineup. I blew a kiss to Sophie as she looked back at us.
No matter what challenge they threw our way, we would be fine. I was resolute in that line of thinking, and when she smiled back at me, I knew she was too.
“Gia, Viv, and Julie, you’re on this side, the rest of you on the other,” Troy said, dividing the women. “Guys, you’re up next. Grab a side and make sure the teams are even.”
Aaron, Diego, and I joined Sophie, Cheryl, and Nicoletta on their side of the rectangle, leaving Zander, Ryan, and Daniel on the other. At least everyone linked with someone else was on the same team. Daniel and Zander stood beside their girls, while Ryan stood beside Julie, who linked her arm with his and grinned at him.
“Don’t look so surly,” she chastised. “We’re here to have fun. No one wants to play with a grumpy puss.”
He did a double-take. “Grumpy puss?”
Julie nodded. “Grumpy puss. Get over it.”
Troy hammed it up for the cameras and cut in before Ryan could argue the term. “Great! With our teams decided, we’re ready to begin! We’re playing good old-fashioned dodgeball, but there’s a twist.”
“Isn’t there always?” Cheryl said from Sophie’s other side.
All of us chuckled, and even Troy joined in. “Yes, well, that’s half the fun. Instead of the usual red rubber balls from elementary school, we’re playing with paint-filled water balloons.”
“I thought dodgeball was just something shown on films and television shows, not something kids actually took part in. It was always portrayed so ruthlessly, with those balls smacking into people’s faces,” I said to Aaron beside me.
He chuckled, then muttered, “Balls smacking faces.” He clapped my shoulder. “But nah, man. It’s a real thing. And it can be ruthless for sure, but it’s also a lot of fun.”
“The last remaining team member on either side of the divide will win a date off the island,” Troy said. “If you are hit with a balloon, and it explodes on you, you’re out, and you’ll join me on the sidelines. Or, if you get tagged with any paint, you’re out.”
We all clapped along when he finished explaining the rules. Or, when we thought he had finished.
“Oh, one small caveat. The winner has to pick someone from the opposing team for their date.”
Ryan’s eyes zeroed in on Sophie, and a smile curled his lips. Oh, fuck no.
With us immediately gravitating to Sophie’s side, and Zander and Daniel doing the same on the opposite team, the couples would be split no matter who won. The only free agent at the moment was Ryan.
Diego was a few paces out in front, with Aaron and me flanking him. All three of us stared down Sophie’s ex like our eyes could shoot lasers and end the game here and now.
Troy clapped his hands. “Okay, then! Everyone, line up on the perimeter.”
We hustled over and lined up, each taking up a running pose before he could fire the proverbial starting pistol. “Ready?”
Sophie was next to me and turned her head in my direction.
“Set?”
She ran her tongue along her lower lip, sending all my blood to my cock and conjuring her taste on my tongue.
She had entirely distracted me as Troy shouted, “Go!” and Sophie tore across the sand with a laugh. They all left me in the dust; I was the last to reach the buckets at the dividing line.
I retreated empty-handed, knowing I’d be a sitting duck in the middle of the fray if I went for the remaining balloons in the middle of no-man's-land. I waited until the first balloons sailed through the air, then sprinted forward, grabbing two while ducking under a blue balloon as it whizzed over my head.
Jess and Tobias hauled more buckets to the center of the divider from either side, crouched over to avoid being hit, then booked it to safety.
I backtracked, finding my target on the other team. Ryan was juggling three balloons in one hand while readying to launch another.
